The Weekly Roundup: A Trio of Overtime Thrillers, Texas’ Last-Minute Opponent, and Nia Clouden’s 50-Point Masterpiece
Recapping Georgia-NC State, Michigan-Baylor, FGCU-Michigan State, and other newsworthy moments from the past week
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Happy holidays! I learned three things this weekend. Elf is still the best Christmas movie of all-time (apologies to fans of A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Die Hard). Lay’s Poppables are the most underrated snacks on the market. And upsets have now become so commonplace in women’s college basketball that the word itself has lost some of its meaning. That last one isn’t even a bad thing; it reflects an increase in parity. Per ESPN Stats and Information, teams in the AP top 10 lost 11 games in November, the most in the past two decades. Unpredictability is the essence of sports, and women’s college basketball has offered fans plenty of it this season.
In WNBA news, Sunday’s draft lottery revealed that Washington won the Rhyne Howard sweepstakes, as the Mystics will select first in the 2022 draft. Indiana, which entered Sunday with the best odds to win the No. 1 pick, will select second and appears poised to draft Baylor’s NaLyssa Smith. Atlanta and Dallas round out the top four with the third and fourth picks, respectively.
I normally highlight one game as my game of the week; however, a trio of overtime games made that a near-impossible choice this week. So, let’s take a quick look at each of those entertaining contests.
Games of the Week: Three overtime classics
Georgia’s Sarah Ashlee Barker drained an off-balance three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in regulation to send her team into overtime against then No. 2 NC State. The Bulldogs pulled out the signature road win Thursday night, 82-80. The back-and-forth contest featured an epic frontcourt battle between Georgia’s Jenna Staiti and NC State’s Elissa Cunane. Staiti finished with a game-high 21 points to go along with 11 boards and six blocks. Cunane led the Wolfpack with 20 points and grabbed five rebounds. Georgia graduate student Que Morrison filled the stat sheet with 20 points, six rebounds, six assists, and five steals.
No Naz Hillmon, no problem? Well, let’s not get too carried away, but the Michigan Wolverines responded impressively after its star player fouled out during regulation, pulling out a 74-68 overtime victory against then-No. 5 Baylor. Sunday’s win at Mohegan Sun Arena propelled the Wolverines to the No. 9 spot in the latest AP poll released yesterday. Michigan pulled in 18 offensive rebounds to Baylor’s nine, which translated into a 29 to 3 advantage in second-chance points. Michigan’s Leigha Brown led all scorers with 25 points. Hillmon finished with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. NaLyssa Smith recorded a double-double of her own, scoring 21 points and pulling in 14 boards.
Florida Gulf Coast escaped with a thrilling 85-84 double-overtime win over Michigan State yesterday at the West Palm Beach Invitational. The Eagles used a 28 to 10 advantage in points off turnovers to overcome both a 54-32 deficit on the boards and an otherworldly 50-point effort from Michigan State’s Nia Clouden (more on that below). The country’s top scorer, Kierstan Bell, led FGCU with 28 points. Tishara Morehouse added 20 for the Eagles.
You stay classy, San Diego
It’s not every day that the head coach of a nationally-ranked, top-25 program takes to Twitter to solicit an opponent during the regular season. After all, college basketball schedules are established several months in advance. So, even after his team’s matchup versus Arizona on Sunday was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols, it was still surprising to see the following message from Texas coach Vic Schaefer Saturday evening.
Multiple leads fell through. Then, Texas assistant coach April Phillips reached out to a friend at the University of San Diego, and the Toreros answered the challenge. They responded despite knowing they would have less than 24 hours to prepare for the country’s No. 11 team and that it would create a scenario where they would be playing three games in four days. While they ultimately dropped a 74-58 decision to the Longhorns, it was a gritty performance that saw the Toreros cut the Texas lead to single digits with under three minutes in the game.
In a tweet before Sunday’s game, San Diego athletic director Bill McGillis explained that part of his team’s motivation for playing was to salvage an opportunity to “showcase and advance the women’s game to a nationally televised audience.” It’s an important point, particularly in an environment where the fight for increased coverage of women’s basketball is an ongoing battle. Kudos to coach Cindy Fisher and her program.
Power Six performances of the week: Nia Clouden, Michigan State, and Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
She hit a game-tying three-pointer late in the fourth quarter. She scored 15 of her team’s 18 points in the game’s two overtimes. She dropped 50 points, the most in Division I this season. Fans would be hard-pressed to identify additional ways Nia Clouden could have helped her team during Michigan State’s heartbreaking double-overtime loss yesterday versus Florida Gulf Coast.
Entering yesterday’s game, Clouden led her team with 19.2 points per contest. Earlier this season, she compiled a string of six consecutive games with at least 20 points. She had proven her ability as a scorer, but yesterday’s game was a next-level performance. Clouden put the Spartans on her back down the stretch and came within inches of knocking off a quality FGCU squad. In the process, she accomplished something that’s happened only 16 times since the 2009-10 season.
Following Virginia Tech’s win against George Washington last month, guard Aisha Sheppard called teammate Elizabeth Kitley the team’s centerpiece. After all, Kitley ranks ninth in the country in blocks per game, fifth in win shares, and 12th in player efficiency rating. Kitley provided further evidence of her importance Sunday afternoon in the Hokies’ ACC opener against Florida State. A First Team All-ACC selection last season, Kitley matched her career-high with 34 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked four shots en route to her team’s 92-75 win. How many other players this season have put up such a stat line? One - frequent guest of the performance of the week section, Kansas State center Ayoka Lee.
Mid-Major performance of the week: Ashlee Austin, Rice
After accepting the head coaching position at Rice in April, Lindsay Edmonds acknowledged the difficulty of taking over a program where four of the team’s five leading scorers from the previous season had transferred.
“There’s not a lot of players that played in those key and crucial moments in the past,” Edmonds said. “I need to learn who I can trust in those moments. I need to learn who can handle the pressure of those moments. And I think we can’t figure that out quite yet in practices.”
By now, Edmonds has learned that Ashlee Austin is one of those players. After averaging 6.3 minutes per game on last year’s WNIT champion Owls squad, Austin has emerged as an impact player. She leads Rice with 18.1 points per contest and ranks at least in the 98th percentile in the following categories: points per game, win shares per 40 minutes, and offensive rating. Austin has scored in double digits in each of the Owls’ seven games this season, but Thursday’s outing at Sam Houston was her magnum opus. The Owls forward scored a career-high 30 points to go along with eight rebounds and four steals. With Rice clinging to a three-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, Austin scored seven straight points to put the game out of reach.
Adam’s Top 25
Here’s my top 25, which as always is based on the criterion of who would win in a hypothetical neutral-court matchup.
Her Hoop Stats content in case you missed it
Richard Cohen recapped the results of the second annual Her Hoop Stats Mock Offseason. For the full podcast episodes, subscribe to Her Hoop Stats on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
On the latest episode of Unplugged, Megan Gauer spoke with Aneela Khan about her NCAA player rankings, the weekend’s compelling slate of games, and the WNBA draft lottery.
When it comes to the 2022 WNBA draft, fans know the names at the top of the board: Rhyne Howard, NaLyssa Smith, Naz Hillmon, etc. But, are there any players that fans and even front offices might be overlooking? Aneela Khan analyzed these potential diamonds in the rough.
In her weekly review of the Pac-12, Kim Doss evaluated how the conference’s early-season losses have impacted teams’ NET rankings.
Robert Mummery analyzed Charli Collier’s play overseas and evaluated the extent to which it will translate to future success in the WNBA.
In the debut episode of the Wetz Setz, Calvin Wetzel broke down film of teams employing drop coverage against pick and rolls.
Other recommended content
ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel evaluated the impact of Paige Bueckers’ updated timetable following last week’s knee surgery.
The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings explored how a new perspective on perfection has facilitated Aliyah Boston’s growth as a player.
For Global Sport Matters, Derek Silva, Nathan Kalman-Lamb, and Johanna Mellis explained why the recent name, image, and likeness policy is the beginning of the journey toward a more equitable college sports system.
Swish Appeal’s Eric Nemshock analyzed the basketball resume of Michigan State senior guard Nia Clouden and why she’s primed to be drafted next spring.
Cora Hall of the Knoxville News Sentinel chronicled the storied rivalry between Tennessee and Stanford.
For The Next, Missy Heidrick covered the mid-major teams and players who have made noise in the first month of the season.
Trivia question of the week
What team won the first NCAA Division I title in a tournament field consisting of 64 teams?
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